If you have one ankle that’s stronger than the other, listen up! According to a recent study in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, athletes with uneven ankle strengths are nine times more likely to sprain an ankle, especially when landing from jumps. When the muscles surrounding your ankle don't have the same amount of strength in each foot, the impact of the jump doesn't get absorbed evenly, which can result in stretched or torn ligaments. Try some of these exercises to even yourself out:

Heading to a performance after class? Showing up with pink tights and a red face is not your best look. Here's a funky trick to quickly bring your skin back to a calmer shade: Suck on an ice cube. Pressing ice to the roof of your mouth will constrict the blood flow in your cheeks, almost instantly reducing redness.

I wish Marcelo Gomes were my best friend. The man is a joyous ball of energy that I want to share mac & cheese with, and take out disco dancing on a Saturday night, and maybe swap some juicy gossip with while getting our toenails painted. So far, I've settled for simply watching his glorious dancing at ABT.

Most summer intensives are winding down this month. If you're looking to tack on an extra week, but want to do something a bit funkier than Giselle variations, check out BalletLab Chicago. The contemporary ballet workshop, led by choreographers Paige Cunningham Caldarella and Emily Stein, takes place July 30 to August 3 at Visceral Dance Center in Chicago. After morning technique classes, dancers will learn new choreography to be performed in an informal showing on the last day.

A company is only as strong as the sum of its parts—and at ABT, each member plays their part to the utmost. I had the opportunity to be a super in ABT’s Taipei productions of La Bayadere this weekend, playing one of the two girls who stand on stage left during the pas d’ action scene in Act I when Nikiya takes gets bitten by the snake.